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Plinth

· Private foundation

Marcia Paulsell Zech Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$17k
Granted FY2024still arriving
24
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$2k
Largest
01What you fund
0195% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20202024.

Human Services$28kFood & Nutrition$16kEducation$7kArts & Culture$6kPublic Safety & Disaster$5kYouth Development$4kHealth$4kReligion$3kOther$0
02FY2024 · 24 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

$500
Median grant
2
States reached
$217k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
RYTHER CHILD CENTER$2,000
NEW BEGINNINGS$1,000
PIKE MARKET SENIOR CENTER$1,000
YOUTH EASTSIDE SERVICES$1,000
MEDIC ONE FOUNDATION$1,000
SOUND GENERATIONS$1,000
GOOD CHEER FOOD BANK$1,000
Individual grant recipient$1,000
SEATTLE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL$1,000
FAMILY WORKS$1,000
Individual grant recipient$1,000
NORTHWEST HARVEST$500
FOOD LIFELINE$500
MERCER ISLAND YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES$500
SALVATION ARMY NW DIVISION$500
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY20–24, $11k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Your grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%SOUND GENERATIONS: $1k → 9%PIKE MARKET SENIOR CENTER: $1k → 9%SOUND GENERATIONS: $1k → 9%PIKE MARKET SENIOR CENTER: $1k → 9%SOUND GENERATIONS: $1k → 9%PIKE MARKET SENIOR CENTER: $1k → 9%SOUND GENERATIONS: $1k → 9%PIKE MARKET SENIOR CENTER: $1k → 9%SOUND GENERATIONS: $1k → 9%PIKE MARKET SENIOR CENTER: $1k → 9%LIFEWIRE: $500 → 9%LIFEWIRE: $500 → 9%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$75k · 26 repeat orgs$5k to everyone else

26 repeat relationships — 17 still active in FY2024, 9 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

26
2

Total granted

$75k
$750

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+16%
+70%

Still filing today

77%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 75% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $4k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesHealthArts & CultureEducationCommunity ImprovementRecreation & SportsOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as “new.” Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • SG
    SOUND GENERATIONS
    5× · 2020–2024 · $5k · revenue +14%
  • NB
    NEW BEGINNINGS
    5× · 2020–2024 · $5k · revenue +49%
  • PM
    PIKE MARKET SENIOR CENTER
    5× · 2020–2024 · $5k · revenue +5%

Funded once

  • CD
    COUNTRY DOCTOR COMMUNITY CLINICS
    one grant, 2020 · $500
  • SP
    SEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $250 · revenue +70%

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
United Way of Snohomish County

United way of snohomish county improves lives for families in snohomish county by bringing people, resources, and strategy together.

Philanthropy
2
The Humane Society for Seattleking County

Seattle humane promotes the human-animal bond by saving and serving pets in need, regardless of age, ability, circumstance or geography.

Animals
3
Friends of Seattle Waterfront

To bring people, communities, and resources together to ensure waterfront park thrives as a vibrant gathering space - uplifting locals, fostering connections and honoring seattle's natural beauty and stories.

Community Improvement
4
Great Peninsula Conservancy

Preserve in perpetuity the natural habitats, rural landscapes, and open spaces of the great peninsula of washington's puget sound.

Environment
5
King County Sexual Assault Resource Center

KCSARC is the largest and most comprehensive non-profit provider of sexual assault services in King County and Washington State. Our vision is a community free of sexual violence. Our mission is to: give voice to victims, their families,…

6
Siff

Siff is a seattle-based 501(c)(3) arts nonprofit dedicated to the creation of vibrant experiences and spaces that champion film discovery and arts education.

Youth Development
7
Re Sources

RE Sources mobilizes people of Northwest Washington to build just and thriving communities and to protect the land, water, and climate on which we all depend.

Environment
8
Earthcorps

To cultivate leaders and community partnerships to advance environmental justice.

International
9
Healthpoint

Healthpoint strengthens communities and improves people's health by delivering quality services, breaking down barriers and providing access to all.

Health
10
Disability Rights Washington

Disability rights washington's mission is to advance the dignity, equality, and self determination of people with disabilities. we work to pursue justice on matters related to human and legal rights.

Human Services
11
Discover Your Northwest

Discover Your Northwest promotes the discovery of northwest public lands, enriches the experience of visitors and builds community stewardship of these special places today and for generations to come.

Recreation & Sports
12
Sustainable Path Foundation

Sustainable Path Foundation promotes sustainability and health in the Puget Sound region through collaborative approaches informed by scientific understanding and systems thinking.

Social Science

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Mercer Island Schools Foundation and the most unlike its peers is American Diabetes Association. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

Your grantees are a median of 44 years old; the field is 14. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number22%0%<5yr15%0%5–10yr19%4%10–20yr19%33%20–35yr12%46%35–55yr12%17%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value22%0%<5yr15%0%5–10yr19%5%10–20yr19%21%20–35yr12%54%35–55yr12%20%55yr+

The field is 22% startups (under 5 years old) — 0% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 0.0% lost their exemption, against 14% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/26
the rest of the field
14%
1,719/12,713

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

24 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 24 of the 35 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
24/24
Grantees still filing
16/24
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

RYTHER CHILD CENTER — $10,000 · OtherRYTHER CHILD CENTERNEW BEGINNINGS — $5,000 · OtherNEW BEGINNINGSCHILDHAVEN — $4,000 · OtherCHILDHAVENIndividual grant recipient — $3,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipientGOOD CHEER FOOD BANK — $3,000 · OtherGOOD CHEER FOOD BANKSEATTLES UNION GOSPEL MISSION — $3,000 · OtherSEATTLES UNION GOSPEL MISSIONNORTHWEST HARVEST EMM — $2,500 · OtherNORTHWEST HARVEST EMMMERCER ISLAND SCHOOLS FOUNDATION — $2,500 · OtherMERCER ISLAND SCHOOLS FOUNDATIONMERCER ISLAND YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES — $2,500 · OtherMERCER ISLAND YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICESTHE SALVATION ARMY — $2,500 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMY+9 more — $7,000 · Other+9 moreSOUND GENERATIONS — $5,000 · Human ServicesSOUND GENERATIONSPIKE MARKET SENIOR CENTER — $5,000 · Human ServicesPIKE MARKET SENIOR…American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches — $1,750 · Human ServicesAmerican National …LifeWire — $1,000 · Human ServicesLifeWireBURKE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION — $3,000 · Arts & CultureHUMANITIES WASHINGTON — $1,500 · Arts & CultureIsland County Historical Society — $1,000 · Arts & CultureMEDIC ONE FOUNDATION — $3,000 · HealthYouth Eastside Services — $1,000 · HealthAmerican Diabetes Association — $750 · HealthNorthwest Parkinsons Foundation — $250 · HealthUniversity of Chicago — $4,000 · EducationKing County Library System Foundation — $500 · EducationFAMILYWORKS — $3,000 · Community ImprovementMERCER ISLAND COMMUNITY FUND — $1,000 · Community ImprovementFOOD LIFELINE — $2,500 · Food & Nutrition
Other$45,500Human Services$12,750Arts & Culture$5,500Health$5,000Education$4,500Community Improvement$4,000Food & Nutrition$2,500

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetSOUND GENERATIONS — $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNEW BEGINNINGS — $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPIKE MARKET SENIOR CENTER — $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Chicago — $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDHAVEN — $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFAMILYWORKS — $3,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMEDIC ONE FOUNDATION — $3,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBURKE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION — $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNORTHWEST HARVEST EMM — $2,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMERCER ISLAND SCHOOLS FOUNDATION — $2,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetFOOD LIFELINE — $2,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches — $1,750 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHUMANITIES WASHINGTON — $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMercy Corps — $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBike Works Seattle — $1,250 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLifeWire — $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMERCER ISLAND COMMUNITY FUND — $1,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetIsland County Historical Society — $1,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetGOOSEFOOT COMMUNITY FUND — $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetYouth Eastside Services — $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Diabetes Association — $750 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetKing County Library System Foundation — $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNorthwest Parkinsons Foundation — $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION — $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds SOUND GENERATIONS
  • Who funds NEW BEGINNINGS
  • Who funds PIKE MARKET SENIOR CENTER
  • Who funds University of Chicago
  • Who funds CHILDHAVEN
  • Who funds FAMILYWORKS
  • Who funds MEDIC ONE FOUNDATION
  • Who funds BURKE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION
  • Who funds NORTHWEST HARVEST EMM
  • Who funds MERCER ISLAND SCHOOLS FOUNDATION
  • Who funds FOOD LIFELINE
  • Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches
  • Who funds HUMANITIES WASHINGTON
  • Who funds Mercy Corps
  • Who funds Bike Works Seattle
  • Who funds LifeWire
  • Who funds MERCER ISLAND COMMUNITY FUND
  • Who funds Island County Historical Society
  • Who funds GOOSEFOOT COMMUNITY FUND
  • Who funds Youth Eastside Services
  • Who funds American Diabetes Association
  • Who funds King County Library System Foundation
  • Who funds Northwest Parkinsons Foundation
  • Who funds SEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Seattle FoundationWA31.3× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Seattle Foundation · Puget Sound Energy Foundation · The Norcliffe Foundation · United Way of King County · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · Gates Foundation · Medina Foundation · Catania Family Foundation · Fales Foundation Trust · Elizabeth a Lynn Foundation · Dv & Ida McEachern Charitable Tr · Moccasin Lake Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Marcia Paulsell Zech Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 47%
  • Mercy Corps47% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY2025

Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending — grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12–24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 35 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

More from the funding graph